Sports desk, 30 June: India’s first female boxer to win an Olympic medalist Mary Kom received the Global Indian Icon of the Year award at the biennial UK-India Awards in Windsor, southeast England.
The 40-year-old great athlete who was also a member of the Rajya Sabha highlighted her incredible 20-year journey filled with dedication and unflinching passion to the sport of boxing in a memorable gala celebration on Thursday night.
She gratefully took the prize from Vikram Doraiswami, the Indian High Commissioner to the UK and thought back on all the incredible sacrifices she had made to pursue her boxing career.
“I have been fighting for 20 years, putting in so much effort, hard work in my life, in boxing, it means a lot… making sacrifice for my country, for my family. I really thank from the bottom of my heart for this recognition,” she said.
The awards currently in their fifth year honour outstanding leadership in business, professional services, government, culture and social impact showcasing their noteworthy accomplishments in fostering cross-border ties.
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) UK received the UK-India Award for Business Promotion Organisation of the Year which was given across multiple categories.
Other honours were Consulting Firm of the Year for SannamS4, Legal Practise of the Year for Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Financial Services Organisation of the Year for ICICI Bank UK Plc. Market Entrant of the Year went to startup investing platform CrowdInvest. Action Aid UK won the award for the social impact project of the year while Mphasis was awarded the technology company of the year.
The awards ceremony was the penultimate activity of the six-day UK-India Week which also featured a special reception hosted by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at 10 Downing Street during which he committed to pursuing a “truly ambitious” free trade agreement (FTA) with India. The awards were chosen from a shortlist by a jury of industry experts.